[106th Congress House Rules Manual -- House Document No. 106-320]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office Online Database]
[DOCID:hrulest-26]

[Page 195-197]

                          sec. xxi--resolutions

  When <> the
House commands, it is by an ``order.'' But fact, principles, and their
own opinions and purposes, are expressed in the form of resolutions.

[[Page 196]]

  A resolution for an allowance of money to the clerks being moved, it
was objected to as not in order, and so ruled by the Chair; but on
appeal to the Senate (i.e., a call for their sense by the President, on
account of doubt in his mind, according to [clause 5 of rule XXII]) the
decision was overruled. Jour., Senate, June 1, 1796. I presume the doubt
was, whether an allowance of money could be made otherwise than by bill.

  Mr. Jefferson's <> citation in section XXI has been conformed to current Rules of
the House. In the modern practice concurrent resolutions have been
developed as a means of expressing fact, principles, opinions, and
purposes of the two Houses (II, 1566, 1567). Joint committees are
authorized by resolutions of this form (III, 1998,  1999), and they are
used in authorizing correction of bills agreed to by both Houses (VII,
1042), amendment of enrolled bills (VII, 1041), amendment of conference
reports (VIII, 3308), requests for return of bills sent to the President
(VII, 1090, 1091), authorizing the printing of certain enrolled bills by
hand in the remaining days of a session (H. Con. Res. 436, Dec. 20,
1982, p. 32875), providing for joint session to receive message from the
President (VIII, 3335, 3336), authorizing the printing of congressional
documents (H. Con. Res. 66, July 1, 1969, p. 17948); paying a birthday
tribute to former President Truman (H. Con. Res. 216, Apr. 24, 1969, p.
10213); calling for the humane treatment of prisoners of war in Vietnam
(H. Con. Res. 454, Dec. 15, 1969, p. 39037), and fixing time for final
adjournment (VIII, 3365). The Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (P.L. 93-
344) provides for the adoption by both Houses of concurrent resolutions
on the budget which become binding on both Houses with respect to
congressional budget procedures (see Sec. 1127, infra). A concurrent
resolution is binding on neither House until agreed to by both (IV,
3379), and, since not legislative in nature, is not sent to the
President for approval (IV, 3483). A concurrent resolution is not a bill
or joint resolution within the meaning of clause 5 of rule XXI
(requiring a three-fifths vote for approval of such a measure if
carrying an increase in a rate of tax on income) (Speaker Gingrich, May
18, 1995, p. 13499). In the 106th Congress the Senate neglected to adopt
a House concurrent resolution vacating signatures of the Presiding
Officers on an enrolled bill and laying that bill on the table as
obsolete (H. Con. Res. 234, Nov. 18, 1999, p. ----). The Congress
subsequently enacted section 1401 of the Miscellaneous Appropriations
Act of 2001, which adopted that concurrent resolution (as enacted by
P.L. 106-554).

[[Page 197]]

  Another <> development of the
modern practice is the joint resolution, which is a bill so far as the
processes of the Congress in relation to it are concerned (IV, 3375;
VII, 1036). With the exception of joint resolutions proposing amendments
to the Constitution (V, 7029), all these resolutions are sent to the
President for approval and have the full force of law. They are used for
what may be called the incidental, unusual, or inferior purposes of
legislating (IV, 3372), as extending the national thanks to individuals
(IV, 3370), the invitation to Lafayette to visit America (V, 7082,
footnote), the welcome to Kossuth (V, 7083), notice to a foreign
government of the abrogation of a treaty (V, 6270), declaration of
intervention in Cuba (V, 6321), correction of an error in an existing
act of legislation (IV, 3519; VII, 1092), enlargement of scope of
inquiries provided by law (VII, 1040), election of managers for National
Soldiers' Homes (V, 7336), special appropriations for minor and
incidental purposes (V, 7319), continuing appropriations (H.J. Res. 790,
P.L. 91-33, p. 17015); establishing the date for convening of Congress
(H.J. Res. 1041, P.L. 91-182, p. 40982); extending the submission date
under law for transmittal of the Budget and Economic Report to Congress
by the President (H.J. Res. 635, P.L. 97-469, p. 32936); and extending
the termination date for a law (H.J. Res. 864, P.L. 91-59, p. 22546). At
one time they were used for purposes of general legislation; but the two
Houses finally concluded that a bill was the proper instrumentality for
this purpose (IV, 3370-3373). A joint resolution has been changed to a
bill by amendment (IV, 3374), but in the later practice it has become
impracticable to do so.
  Where a choice between a concurrent resolution and a joint resolution
is not dictated by law, the House by its votes on consideration of a
measure decides which is the appropriate vehicle (and a point of order
does not lie that a concurrent rather than a joint resolution would be
more appropriate to express the sense of the Congress on an issue) (Mar.
16, 1983, p. 5669).
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